Bakhtiari puts it all on the line with Buffs

At the end of the phone interview Wednesday morning, David Bakhtiari gave a shoutout to Patrick Walsh, his high school coach at Serra in San Mateo.

"He definitely built me into part of the man that I am today," Bakhtiari said.

The 21-year-old is a 6-foot-4, 295-pound left tackle at the University of Colorado, which hosts Stanford this weekend. But back in 2008, his senior season with the Padres, Bakhtiari was more than 50 pounds lighter and a starter on the offensive line for the first time.

His oldest brother, Eric, was a standout at Burlingame High and played four years as a defensive end at the University of San Diego. The 27-year-old is a converted 6-3, 250-pound linebacker who has enjoyed his cup of tea in the NFL, the latest coming with the San Francisco 49ers this season before he was released in the first week of October.

"We try to coordinate our offseason so we're lifting together," the younger Bakhtiari said. "I have a huge amount of respect for him. He definitely helped me develop as a player and I was very happy to see him out there playing because I know he's doing what he loves. ...

"And playing for the 49ers, it's definitely an honor. You grow up with that team around you, so playing with that team was something that I know he cherished a lot."

Bakhtiari has a chance to follow in his oldest brother's footsteps and join the NFL ranks, but when it came to high school he wanted to walk a separate path. That's why he chose Serra instead of Burlingame. It sort of worked out.

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"One of the big things was not to be in my brother's shadow," Bakhtiari said. "I didn't want to be known as Bakh's little brother. And I actually still ended up getting that going to Serra because I had a middle brother, Andrew."

Andrew Bakhtiari is now a 6-foot, 200-pound defensive end at USD. When it came to college, once again David went in a different direction than his older brothers.

"It came to a decision, if I were to wake up tomorrow and I could never play football again, would I be happy at the university I was at?" said Bakhtiari, who also received offers from Washington, Utah, UTEP and Sacramento State . "And that made me decide to come to Colorado."

The moment Bakhtiari stepped on campus, he expected "zero" favors.

"I came to the university to earn everything I got," Bakhtiari said.

He understood the importance of gaining size and strength, which meant freshman year was spent in the weight room. After redshirting in 2009, it was baptism by fire as Bakhtiari started 11 games at right tackle.

"There is some men that you will go up against, and it humbled me," Bakhtiari said. "It made me realize even after I finally got my starting spot that it doesn't mean I'm already there."

It helped to have someone to mentor him. That role went to 6-8, 320-pound Nate Solder, who was drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots in the 2011 NFL draft.

"When I came in here, I knew I needed to learn a lot and I needed to grow as a player," Bakhtiari said. "So I used to go over to his house once a week every Thursday for film session when we were both playing together."

Last year, Bakhtiari filled the void at left tackle created by Solder's ascension to the NFL. But things didn't go as planned. On the seventh play from scrimmage, Bakhtiari suffered a severe knee sprain and missed the next two games. After a return against Ohio State, he participated in the rest of the 623 snaps over the season.

His combination of burst at the line of scrimmage, quick feet, balance and upper body strength have established Bakhtiari as a top-tier NFL talent. It helps that he allowed only three sacks in his first two seasons with the Buffaloes.

In the near future, Bakhtiari will sit down and study his options for the next chapter in his life. Will he return for his senior season, or opt for the draft?

"Now that decision is kind of in my face," said Bakhtiari, who is majoring in communication and minoring in business. "I've finally met my fork in the road."

Before it comes to that, Colorado has four games left in its Pac-12 campaign. After leaving the Big 12 for richer pasture, the Buffaloes (1-7, 1-4) have struggled. It doesn't get easier against Stanford, which set a school record with 10 sacks last week.

"They throw a lot of blitzes at you, and within the blitzes they are very multi-dimensional," Bakhtiari said. "But if we're all communicating and we're all on the same level, we know exactly what each person is going to be doing and we can be very effective and basically neutralize their pass rushers."